Aspects of the present invention include an optical drive bezel for an optical disk drive that includes integration of structural and cosmetic bezels for a slot loading optical drive.
A personal computer system may be thought of as a general-purpose, single-user microcomputer that is designed to be operated by a person. A small and low cost personal computer (PC) may include a monitor connected to a computer, each of which may receive power from an ordinary outlet. In operation, the monitor accepts video signals from a graphic card within the computer over a cable assembly and displays this information on a screen.
A computer system may include at least one optical disk drive configured to receive an optical disk such as a DVD or a CD disk for data processing. The optical disk drive is coupled to the motherboard of the computer system as is well known in the art. The optical disk drive is mounted in the computer system via a chassis that has an enclosure case. FIG. 1 shows a conventional way of mounting a slot loading optical disk drive 102 in a chassis 104 of a computer system (partially shown). The chassis 104 includes an enclosure 106 and a cosmetic piece 108 affixed to the enclosure 106. The cosmetic piece 108 includes a slot 110 to receive an optical disk 112. The optical disk 112 can be loaded into the optical drive 102 as is known in the art. The cosmetic piece 108 is not fixed to the optical drive 102 and there is no mechanical fastener directly between the cosmetic piece 108 and the optical drive 102. Thus, the cosmetic piece 108 can be decoupled or misaligned with the face of the optical drive 102. The decoupling or misalignment possibility can cause reliability problems when inserting and/or ejecting the optical disk 112. For example, the optical disk 112 can be easily damaged during ejection or injection. Additionally, the optical disk 112 can be jammed during ejection or injection due to the misalignment thus causing installation failure.
FIG. 2 shows another conventional way of mounting a slot loading optical disk drive 102 in a chassis 104 of a computer system (not shown). The chassis 104 includes an enclosure 107 which also functions as a cosmetic piece. The enclosure 107 includes a slot 110 to receive an optical disk 112. The optical disk 112 can be loaded into the optical drive 102 as is known in the art. The enclosure 107 is not fixed to the optical drive 102 and there is no mechanical fastener directly connecting the enclosure 107 and the optical drive 102. A functional structure 111 having a slot 113 is coupled to the optical drive 102. The functional structure 111 provides some alignment mechanism for the optical disk 112 during injection and ejection. Misalignment of the slot 113 with the slot 110 is still a possibility depending on how the functional structure 111 is mounted in the chassis 104. The misalignment possibility can cause reliability problems when inserting and/or ejecting the optical disk 112.